DEEP CHAND Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by appellants Deep Chand and Sanjay Kumar is directed against the judgment, dated 30th September, 2006, of learned Sessions Judge, Hamirpur, whereby they have been convicted of offences, under Sections 457, 504, 341, 324 and 302, read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and awarded the following sentences: Sect ion under which convicted.

(2.) CASE of the prosecution, which led to the charging, trial and conviction of the appellants, for the aforesaid offences, may be stated. Appellant Deep Chand and deceased Prem Chand were real brothers. They had five more brothers, namely PW -4 Joginder Singh, PW -5 Piar Chand, PW -6 Ramesh Chand, one Dharam Chand and one Suresh. Six of them, i.e. appellant Deep Chand, deceased Prem Chand, PW -4 Joginder Singh, PW -5 Piar Chand, PW -6 Ramesh Chand and Suresh, lived in village Utpur, Police Station Sujanpur, District Hamirpur, while their seventh brother Dharam Chand shifted to Hamirpur Town. Appellant Deep Chand is the eldest of the seven brothers. Some 20 -25 years prior to the occurrence, which took place on 13th September, 2005, appellant Deep Chand separated from his brothers and constructed his own separate house in the village. The remaining six brothers continued to live jointly with their mother. About 8 -9 years prior to the occurrence, they also separated from each other. They partitioned the family house and made it into several units. Deceased Prem Chand had been allotted a room, which was being used as a kitchen by PW -6 Ramesh Chand, his brother Suresh and their mother. That room is on the ground floor. PW -4 Joginder Singh and PW -5 Piar Chand were allotted some portions on the first floor of the building. PW -6 Ramesh Chand was allotted a portion on the ground floor, where he lived with his family. Another portion, on the ground floor, was occupied by Suresh, another brother, where he lived alongwith his mother. Deceased Prem Chand had constructed a separate house, where he lived with his family.

(3.) ON 12th September, 2005, PW -4 Joginder Singh came to the village to avail annual leave. He is employed in the Indian Army. On 13th September, 2005, around 10.30 p.m., when PW -4 Joginder Singh, PW -5 Piar Chand and PW -6 Ramesh Chand were present in their separate residential units, in the joint family house, appellant Deep Chand, his son appellant Sanjay Kumar, accompanied by Shalan Devi (wife of appellant Deep Chand) and Anjali Kumari (wife of appellant Sanjay Kumar), went to the joint family house. Appellant Deep Chand was armed with a Drat Ex. P -1 and appellant Sanjay Kumar with Khukhri Ex. P -2. In fact Ex. P -2 is not a Khukhri, but a small sized Kirpan, which is normally worn by Baptised Sikhs. The two ladies were armed with Dandas. They hit the doors of the separate residential units of PW -4 Joginder Singh, PW -5 Piar Chand and PW -6 Ramesh Chand, with Dandas and kicks and also tried to break open the doors by use of Drat Ex. P -1. It appears that they could not succeed in break - opening the doors of the residential portions of the house, though some damage was caused to those doors. However, they managed to separate a plank of that portion of the building, which was used as kitchen by PW -6 Ramesh Chand, his brother Suresh Chand and their mother, which portion had, in fact, fallen to the share of deceased Prem Chand. Nobody was present in that portion. So, the appellants and their above stated lady accomplices withdrew and went to their house, after hurling abuses and pelting stones.